Curated OER
Costume Exploration
What a great lesson, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then create a composit...
NPR
Theatre Vocabulary
From actor to volume, the 90 terms on a theatre vocabulary list are must knows for any student of the dramatic arts.
Curated OER
Garbage Bag Costume Creation
Students create plastic bag costumes for a short scene developed in the classroom. Performances and assessment occur at the end of this quick activity. A very creative mini-project for theatre arts classes.
Curated OER
If Paintings Could Talk: Art and Language
Middle schoolers learn about the artist Canaletto, play a vocabulary game, and create a landscape using collage technique. Background information on the artist is provided along with instructions for the game and vocabulary words to...
Curated OER
Building Background Knowledge: Stagecraft
Mise en scene? Flyrail? Ghost light? As the title suggests, the object of this group scavenger hunt, is to provide young stagehands with the background information they need to understand the specialized vocabulary of the theater.
Curated OER
Checkmate: The Play's The Thing
Students investigate the Middle Ages and it's relation to the theater. In this acting lesson, students read Arthurian stories form the Middle Ages and practice using vocabulary words from the Medieval Times. Students write a...
Curated OER
"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
Curated OER
Byzantine Art: 5th century to 1453 AD
Art and architecture are great ways to help define historical periods and cultural norms. Take a critical look at the art of the Byzantine period as seen under Justinian rule. Iconography, vocabulary, religious, and political concepts...
Curated OER
Shakespeare Club
Students explore literature dramatization. In this Shakespeare lesson, students discuss the characters from the play A Midsummer Night's Dream and construct costumes and a set.
Curated OER
Dance Production
Students go through the experience of creating a dance. They use the correct vocabulary when creating the dance in writing. Students choreograph the steps needed to perform the dance in sequence. Then they perform the dance for final...
Curated OER
The Play's the Thing: The Drama of Cyrano de Bergerac
Students practice dramatic 'living' through various drama activities. In this drama lesson, students define drama, view examples of dramatic elements in Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne, define characterization within the dramas, study the...
Curated OER
Masks Across Cultures
Young scholars examine various masks from different cultures. In groups, they review vocabulary related to expressing emotions in art. They work together to create a mask using the techniques described to them and representing a...
Curated OER
Word Bank; Theater
Learners are given a word bank relating to theater. In this word bank lesson plan, students are introduced to a list of words and their definitions. Learners then build their vocabulary regarding theatrical concepts.
Curated OER
Catch as Catch Can
Students investigate insects. In this insect analysis instructional activity, students catch insects using nets they make. They identify the insects they catch and create a chart to show the numbers and varieties. This instructional...
Curated OER
Cameras and Careers
Applying photography basics they learn for this project, first graders take pictures of an adult at work focusing on the tools used, the work site, and job responsibilities. After making a career book that includes photos and...
Curated OER
Day One Dance Workshop
Fifth graders complete a unit of lessons on the definition of dance. They view videos of various dances, compare/contrast the dances viewed, categorize a list of words about dance on a handout, write journal responses, and perform dance...
Curated OER
Fashion Design From Nature
Some gorgeous images will inspire your learners to create different fashion designs from a wide variety of natural sources. Students study color, pattern, texture, shape and form to create their own original piece in this vocational...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Characters from a Box
Character analysis is a skill we use when we read literary works or want to write a good story. Learners will use drama to practice character analysis while focusing on the details that make characters act the way they do. They'll each...
Ballet Austin
The History of Modern Dance
The evolution of modern dance, and the dance history of many of the key figures in the development of this uniquely American form, are the focus of a 13-page packet that includes photos of revolutionaries.
Curated OER
On the Scene: Analyzing Scenes in Film and Literature
Students examine how a scene in a movie or in literature is constructed. In this film and literature lesson students answer questions based on film clips then create storyboards depicting a scene from their life.
John F. Kennedy Center
Acting Up, A Melodrama: Performing Like Jo March and Her Sisters in Little Women
Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples...
Curated OER
Reader's Theater Lesson Plans
Reader's Theater lesson plans get students reading in a fun and motivating way.
Curated OER
Energy Play: Harry Spotter and the Chamber of Windy Myths
Learners explore the concept of renewable energy. In this alternative energy lesson, students participate in a play that conveys information regarding wind energy. The script may be performed as a play with props or as a reader's theatre.
Curated OER
The First Americans
Students participate in theatre activities to study American history. For this American history and theatre lesson, students work in groups to research a specific Native American group to investigate their lifestyle. Students then create...